Ceiling plastering apparatus



Oct. 30, 1962 F. RIENECKER CEILlNG PLASTERING APPARATUS Filed March 23, 1959 INVENTOR. FRED RLENEC'KER a f u ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofifice 3,001,201 Patented Oct. 30, 1962 3,061,201 CEILING PLASTERING APPARATUS Fred Rienecker, 42 Clara St., San Francisco, Calif. Filed Mar. 23, 1959, Ser. No. 801,269 6 Claims. (Cl. 239-281) Several serious problems are encountered in this type j of spraying operation. One of the most serious is the requirement that the plaster be evenly distributed in a layer of uniform thickness. This requires a high degree of control of the spray nozzle.

In buildings having large rooms with extensive ceiling areas, economical practice requires that the plaster applying apparatus be able to cover considerable areas continuously and without interruption.

The apparatus should be adapted for use on ceilings of varying heights and sizes with a minimum of adjustment, and should be equipped to smooth oil": and finish the plastered surfaces.

The present invention therefore has, as a principal object,,the provision of an apparatus for applying plaster to a ceiling, an even coat over a wide area in a substantially continuous manner by a single operator.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus of the character described which incorporates a novel mobile boom construction providing fine control of the distribution of the plaster onto the ceiling.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a plastering apparatus designed to project liquid plaster onto a ceiling, and thereafter to support smoothing and finishing tools in a manner permitting finishing sity for scaffolding and hand troweling.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the specification proceeds, and the new and used features of the invention will be fully defined in the claims hereto attached.

The preferred form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming part of this application, in which: 4

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational View of a ceiling plastering apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2, a fragmentary side elevational view of the boom portion of the apparatus of FIGURE 1, and showing a finishing darby mounted in operative position thereon;

FIGURE 3, a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken substantially on the plane of line 33 of FIGURE 2 and showing a motor and grinding wheel mounted on the darby; and

FIGURE 4, an enlarged cross-sectional View of a clamping device taken substantially on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, I wish to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims hereto attached, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the ceiling plastering apparatus of the present invention includes a wheeled cart 11 having an upstanding telescopic post 12, a teleoperations entirely from the floor and without the necesscopic boom 13 pivoted intermediate its ends to the upper end of the post, means for locking the post and boom at desired telescopic positions, attaching means 14 for supporting plastering tools mounted on an end of the boom, and means 16 on the other end of the boom for counterbalancing the weight of the plastering tools.

The cart 11 should be freely movable in any direction to provide the desired mobility, and here consists of a pair of axially aligned wheels 17 and 18 journaled on a triangular frame 19, and a spaced third wheel 21 mounted at the apex of the frame for castering action on a swivel 22. t

The upstanding post 12 includes a vertically disposed tubular member 23 resting upon the cart and secured thereto by braces 24. Journaled in the member 23, for axial and rotating movement, is a tubular support member 26 which is held at the desired vertical height by means of an adjustable collar 27 hearing against the upper end of member 23.

A handle 28 is secured to a sleeve 29 embracing the member 23 and adjustably clamped thereon by a pair of clamping devices 31 formed at the ends of the sleeves. The details of the clamping devices are best seenin FIG- URES 1 and 4. As there shown, a lateral cut 32 is made about seven-eighths of the way through the sleeve about one to two inches from the end. An axial cut 33 joins cut 32 to the end of the sleeve.

Welded onto the curved ears formed by the cuts are a pairof nuts 34 and 36. A handle 37 is threadedly engaged with nut 34, but not with nut 36, and has a collar (provded by nut 38) hearing against nut 36 so as to release or clamp the ears on the encircled member upon a quick twist of handle 37.

The boom 13 includes a tubular sleeve 41 having a bracket 42 pivotally secured by a pin 43 to the upper end of the member 26. The rocking action of the boom is preferably limited by a collar 44 which is adjustable on a sector rod 46. A .vertical slot is formed in the upper end of member 26 to accommodate the sector rod 46 so that the collar will engage member 26 and halt movement of the boom in one direction, but not the other. i

Also included in the boom 13 is a boom tube 47 journaled for axial and rotating movement in the sleeve 41 and extending from the opposite ends thereof. A collar 27A, similar to collar 27, serves to position the boom tube 47 in the sleeve 41 and a clamp 31A, similar to clamps 31, is provided at the rear end of sleeve 41 to clamp the tube 47 against rotating movement, when desired.

Further extension of the boom is provided by a tubular extension rod 48 journaled for axial movement in the boom tube 47. The rod 48 is clamped in place by a clamp 31B constructed in the manner of the clamp 31 shown in FIGURE 4.

Mounted on the outer end of the extension rod 48 is the means 14 for supporting the plastering tools, while a manipulating handle 49 is secured at the other end of the boom. When clamp 31A is released, the handle 49 may be used to rotate the means 14 relative to the boom sleeve, and accordingly, to tilt the plastering tool mounted thereon.

Illustrated in FIGURE 1 is a Wet plaster spray nozzle 51 attached to the end of the boom. The nozzle is directed upwardly, and is supplied with p'laster, in the form of a thick liquid, pumped through a flexible hose 52. Conveniently, the hose may be secured in the position shown, to permit free swinging of the boom by suitable chains 53.

In operating the present apparatus to spray plaster on a ceiling, the boom tube 47 is positioned in the sleeve 3 41 to provide for a desired sweep over the ceiling when the handle 49 is swung from side to side. A sweep arc of twelve to fifteen feet in width is entirely practicable.

As the boom is swung from side to side, the cart 11 is pulled along by means of the handle 28 to provide an even coverage of the ceiling. Fine control of the direction of the plaster spray is provided by the ability of the handle 49 to tilt the spray nozzle 51 during operation. This is particularly valuable in directing the plaster around objects hanging from the ceiling and into corners formed by the ceiling and walls.

FIGURES 2 and 3 illustrate the attachment of a smoothing tool, commonly known as a darby, to the mobile boom. The darby 54 is of narrow rectangular configuration and is preferably mounted with its longer dimension lying in the vertical plane defined by the boom 13. From the end, see FIGURE 3, the darby appears flat over its width, but the extreme edges may be somewhat curved in the manner shown in order to afford a smoother action.

The darby is preferably mounted so that it can be swung to a vertical position for use on the walls adjacent to the ceiling. For this purpose, the darby 54 is mounted on a pair of arms 56 and 57 which straddle a pair of circular plates 58 and 59 aifixed to the end of extension 'rod 48. The arms are journaled to the rod 48 by means of a bolt 61.

Adjustment of the angle of the darby 54 relative to the boom 13 is effected by a control rod 62 which is connected between the arms 56-57 at the darby, and a handle 63 pivotally secured by bolt 64- to the opposite end of the boom. This adjustment provides for keeping the darby horizontal when used with ceilings of different heights.

To accommodate the control rod 62 to the telescoping features of the boom 13, the rod may be made in two parts which telescope within a tube 66 and which are clamped in position by clamps 310 similar to clamp 31 of FIG- URE 4.

When it is desired to use the darby in the vertical position indicated by the phantom lines of FIGURE 2, the control rod 62 is connected to an auxiliary pair of arms 67 which project at right angles to the arms 56 and 57.

In accordance with the present invention, the mobile boom may be used to support other plastering and finishing tools. The darby 54 is conveniently used as a base for such tools.

FIGURE 3 illustrates a motor 68 and grinding Wheel 69 mounted on the darby 54 for use in grinding down rough spots on the ceiling. The darby may also be turned upside down from this position, and the grinder used to grind off concrete joints in the floor. Moreover, other tools such as, but not limited to, motor driven brushes and painting equipment can be accommodated on the mount provided by the darby.

When the darby 54 is used for smoothing down the sprayed coating, it should be noted that the mobile boom construction provides a wide arc of sweep and, by simply pulling the device back upon completion of each arc, the entire ceiling may be smoothed. The ability of the operator to tilt the darby to either side during the sweep provides the kind of control necessary for skillful smoothmg.

Because the weights of the various tools used with the present apparatus differ widely, the counterweight means 16 is here provided in the form of a hollow container 71 which provides a chamber 72 adapted to be filled with shot, sand or water in the amount necessary to provide the desired counterbalancing effect.

As the mobile boom is pushed forward and back, and is swung from side to side, the hose 52 may tend to contract and hang up on the wheels 1718. This could cause a piling up of plaster in one spot on the ceiling due to the momentary interruption of the normally smooth movement of the nozzle 51.

To prevent such hanging up, the hose 52 is here supported in a curved trough or channel '73. The hose is releasably retained in the channel by clips 74. The channel is mounted for free swinging movement from side to side, on the post 23 by means of a sleeve 76 journaled on the post and connected to the channel by a bracket 77.

I claim:

1. A ceiling plastering apparatus, comprising a wheeled cart having an upstanding telescopic post, a telescopic boom pivoted intermediate its ends to the upper end of said post, means for locking said post and said boom at desired telescopic positions, a flexible hose attached at one end to an end of said boom, said hose being adapted for communication with a source of plaster under pressure, a nozzle secured to said end of said boom and connected with said hose so as to spray plaster upwardly against a ceiling, and means on the other end of said boom for counter-balancing the weight of said hose and nozzle, a curved channel pivotally supported on said post and formed to support said hose above the wheels of said cart, and clip means for releasably retaining said hose in said channel.

2. An apparatus for plastering ceilings, comprising a cart having a pair of axially aligned wheels journaled thereon and a spaced third wheel mounted for castering action on the cart, a tubular post extending vertically upwardly from said cart, a tubular member journaled for axial and rotating movement in said post and having an adjustable collar adapted for bearing on the upper end of the post to determine the distance said member extends tnereabove, a tubular sleeve pivoted to the upper end of said member, a boom tube journaled for axial and rotating movement in said sleeve and extending from the opposite ends thereof, means on said boom tube for rotating the latter while swinging from side to side, a plastering tool carried on one end of said boom tube, and a counterweight carried on the other end of said boom tube.

3. An apparatus for plastering ceilings, comprising a cart having a pair of axially aligned wheels journaled thereon and a spaced third wheel mounted for castering action on the cart, a tubular post extending vertically upwardly from said cart, a tubular member journaled for axial and rotating movement in said post and having an adjustable collar adapted for bearing on the upper end of the post to determine the distance said member extends thereabove, a tubular sleeve pivoted to the upper end of said member, a boom tube journaled for axial and rotating movement in said sleeve and extending from the opposite ends thereof, a plastering tool carried on one end of said boom tube, a counterweight carried on the other end of said boom tube, a handle adjustably secured to and extending from said post for effecting guided movement of said cart, and a handle adjustably secured to said boom tube for effecting controlled side-to-side swingmg and up-and-down rocking movement of tthe plastering tool carried on the boom tube.

4. An apparatus for plastering ceilings, comprising a wheeled cart having an upstanding telescopic post, a telescopic boom pivoted intermediate its ends at the upper end of the post, means for locking said post and said boom at desired telescopic positions with freedom of rotative movement therebetween about the axes of both the post and the boom, a plastering tool carried at one end of said boom, and a counterweight carried at the opposite end of said boom, said plastering tool including a nozzle having a flexible hose adapted for communication with a source of plaster under pressure and being secured to said first-named end of said boom so as to spray plaster upwardly against a ceiling, said freedom of rotative movement of said post and boom cooperating with said wheeled cart to provide for uninterrupted and continuous adjustment of the position of said nozzle relative to said ceiling during the entire plastering operation.

5. An apparatus for plastering ceilings, comprising a wheeled cart having an upstanding telescopic post, a

telescopic boom pivoted intermediate its ends at the upper end of the post, means for locking said post and said boom at desired telescopic positions with freedom of rotative movement, a plastering tool carried at one end of said boom, and a counterweight carried at the opposite end of said boom, said plastering tool including an elongated darby having a pivotal connection to said boom for adjusting the angle therebetween.

6. An apparatus for plastering ceilings, comprising a wheeled cart having an upstanding telescopic post, a telescopic boom pivoted intermediate its ends at the upper end of the post, means for locking said post and said boom at desired telescopic positions with freedom of rotative movement, a plastering tool carried at one end of said boom, a counterweight carried at the opposite end of said boom, said plastering tool including an elongated darby having a pivotal connection to said boom for adjusting the angle therebetween, and a motor-driven grinding wheel removably mounted on said darby.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

